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Victoria[1] is the southernmost of the eastern mainland states of Australia. The state is roughly triangular in shape. New South Wales lies to the north / north-east, with the Murray River forming most of the boundary between the two states. South Australia lies to the west and the southern coast forms the other side of the triangle. Melbourne, the state capital and largest city, is nestled on Port Phillip Bay in the center of the southern coast.

Understand

Get in

By car

It is around 6 hours from Sydney to the Victorian border along the Hume Highway, and another 3-4 hours from there into Melbourne.

By plane

Melbourne is the main entry point to Victoria by air. Flights to all Australian capital cities, and direct to many international destinations.

Time Zone

Victoria is 10 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+10) and 18 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time (PST). Daylight Saving (GMT+11) begins on the first Sunday of October and ends on the first Sunday of April.

AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time
AEDT - Australian Eastern Daylight Time

Get around

By car

Touring Victoria by car is a straightforward and practical way of seeing the state. Distances between towns tend not to be as great as in other states, and it is unusual to drive for more than a couple of hours without passing through a small town. Victoria has the most developed road network of any state of Australia, and most towns are accessible without using dirt of gravel roads. Roads are indicated as motorways, A, B or C roads, but in general there is no need to avoid a C road if it clearly provides the quickest trip to where you want to go.

By public transport

The Metlink [2] website provides information on public transport (train, tram and bus) including maps, fares and zones and all timetables.

Further information is at the V/Line website [3]. V/Line train services operate to and from Melbourne on the Geelong line in the south-west, Ballarat in western Victoria, Bendigo, Swan Hill and Echuca in the north, Seymour and Wodonga in the north-east, and Traralgon and Sale in the state's east. V/Line covers the rest of Victoria with road coaches.

Do

Compass Expeditions (Motorcycle Tours of South America), 62 Cowans Drive Dales Creek, 3341 Victoria, Australia (info@compassexpeditions.com), ☎1300 887 327 International +61 3 5368 6473, [4]. Ride days: 8. A tale of two cites, this remarkable ride takes us from Melbourne to Sydney via the legendary “high Country” through to the world heritage listed Blue Mountains with its dramatic cliffs, valleys and Eucalypt forests. The ride takes in the home of motorcycle racing in Australia, Phillip Island, before continuing on to Gippsland, home to Australia’s largest system of inland waterways and the remote splendor of Ninety Mile beach. Turning inland we ride the seldom used, Barry Way, and into the magnificent Alpine National Park before crossing into NSW and onto Jindabyne. We descend from the highlands and ride onto Bateman's Bay, a wonderful beachside village with a rolling surf, quiet coves and rock pools. Inland again this ride will take us on to the magnificent Blue Mountains National Park, that has been continually inhabited by Aborigines for 22,000 years. We finish in the breathtaking Sydney with ones of the worlds greatest harbour side settings.AU$ 990.